Which to use
“bustes” and “bute” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,839
- “bustes” frequency rank
- #13,983
- “bute” frequency rank
- 49822
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bustes | bute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de buste. | Instrument de maréchal-ferrant qui sert à couper la corne des sabots des chevaux. |
Where the eye mixes bustes and bute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bustes and bute
A purely visual mix-up. bustes (\byst\) and bute (\byt\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bustes is recorded at frequency rank #35,839, classified as anoun, pronounced \byst\. bute is at rank #13,983, tagged as anoun, pronounced \byt\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 49822, this pair ranks #167,616 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bustes vs bute
Shared letters: betu. Private to "bustes": s. Private to "bute": -.
"bustes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "bute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bustes" for "bute" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bustes" or "bute"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bustes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #167,616 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bustes" and "bute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "buses vs bustes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #167,616 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.